A new research chair at AV俱乐部 is sure to energize the Department of Chemistry.
Mark Obrovac was recently named a 3M/NSERC Canada/AV俱乐部 Industrial Research Chair in Metal-Ion Batteries for EV Power Sources, charged with creating new, low-cost materials鈥攕pecifically metal ion cells鈥攆or renewable batteries.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been very little research done in this area up until now. It鈥檚 in its infancy stage, so it鈥檚 a great project with lots of opportunity and lots of exciting work to do,鈥� he says.
Dr. Obrovac joined Dal as an associate professor last September after spending eight years at 3M 鈥� a global diversified technology company 鈥� in St. Paul, MN.
The chair is a first for the chemistry department, and only the fifth for Dal as a whole, the last being awarded to the university in 2007.
鈥淚t is quite an honour, and it is a research position so the idea is to get graduate students into research,鈥� says Dr. Obrovac, who grew up in Vancouver and attended Simon Fraser University, AV俱乐部 and Cornell.
Building better batteries
His project will focus on lithium alternatives such as sodium and aluminium, which could reduce the size and/or cost of batteries for hybrid and electrical vehicles, and beyond.
While lithium has the highest energy per unit weight, researchers are realizing the size of the cell is equally important, he says.
鈥淚f your cell phone weighs a few grams extra, you don鈥檛 really care. But if it鈥檚 smaller, that鈥檚 a big deal,鈥� Dr. Obrovac muses. 鈥淥ur lab is looking at volume and cost reduction through these other ions.
鈥淲e鈥檙e working for an industrial partner, so the goal is commercial sales and making something that鈥檚 real,鈥� he adds.
Opportunities for grad students
The 3M/NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Materials Science, renewable every five years, will include seven graduate students, four post-docs and a research associate by year five.
They鈥檒l certainly benefit from ties to such a large company. Already 3M is providing research materials including electrolyte solvents and salts that are not commercially available.
鈥淐ollaboration with 3M gives them a leg up,鈥� says Dr. Obrovac, who will take students to company headquarters three times a year to present research. Students will also have a chance to do research at 3M鈥檚 facilities.
He says the benefits work both ways: 鈥淭his is white-space research鈥攜ou don鈥檛 know if there鈥檚 going to be a product here or not鈥攕o having students doing it in a university setting is very cost-effective.鈥�